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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30052488">Business ‘Partners’ AU: GabeNath</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/gabrielsmiraculous/pseuds/gabrielsmiraculous'>gabrielsmiraculous</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AU, Emilie Agreste Lives, F/M, How Do I Tag, Romance, gabenath</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 03:02:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,481</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30052488</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/gabrielsmiraculous/pseuds/gabrielsmiraculous</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After Emilie left him, Gabriel hires Nathalie Sancoeur. They both didn’t realize how much they’d change their lives. (Business Partners AU)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>André Bourgeois/Audrey Bourgeois, Emilie Agreste &amp; Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth, Emilie Agreste/André Bourgeois, Emilie Agreste/Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth, Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth &amp; Audrey Bourgeois, Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth &amp; Nathalie Sancoeur, Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth/Nathalie Sancoeur</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>32</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. New Beginnings</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey y’all, this is my first fanfiction on here so I’m sorry if it’s not perfect!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Nathalie had always been a workaholic. She would try to slow the pace, but it was merely impossible for her. She had always been the kind of girl to work hard to play later. It wasn’t the most enjoyable life, but it was something, right? She had thought so, until she had met Gabriel Agreste. She had walked into Agreste Towers for the first time for her interview a few short months ago. She hadn’t expected to meet the man himself until she was facing his ocean blue eyes. He was way taller than she had expected. At first glance, he looked to be intimidating. His deep blue eyes shot deeper into the souls of those he met. Most felt fear when they met him, but Nathalie just fell in love. And she fell hard. She had become instantly mesmerized by the look in his eyes. He had led her up to his office for the interview. She kept stealing glances when he wasn’t looking, or so she thought. The interview had gone without a hitch and Gabriel had hired her on the spot. At that moment, she hadn’t realized how much her life would change.<br/>
Somewhere along the line, she and Gabriel had decided to start their own side company. She had been answering calls all day when Gabriel had snuck up behind her, grabbed the phone from her and hung it up.<br/>
“Mr. Agreste, what was that for?” Nathalie asked with a harsh temper. She had been on the phone with a client Gabriel had been bugging her to contact for about two months now.<br/>
“Ms. Sancoeur, a word. In my office. Now.” He directed. She stood up and followed him into his office. When they got inside, she could smell the aroma of coffee. His favorite beverage was coffee, so his office was naturally scented like the inside of a cafe.<br/>
“Take a seat.” He directed, waving a hand towards the empty chair in front of his desk. Nathalie sat down in the offered seat as he sat down at his desk. She had a nervous look on her face. Had she called the wrong clients? Scheduled the wrong date? Sitting in front of her boss in this setting had somehow turned more intimidating than her interview.<br/>
Gabriel saw the nervous look on her face and chuckled softly, “Relax you’re not fired. Quite the opposite actually. You have a business degree correct?” He questioned.<br/>
Nathalie nodded, “Yes, that’s correct sir, I do. Is there any particular reason why?” She raised an eyebrow in curiosity. She didn’t want to admit that his question had piqued her interest, but the facial expression she had did it for her.<br/>
““I want to leave this company and start a fashion company. I even have the name for it. Now, I just need faithful employees, such as yourself.” he admitted, “My father handed me this company as soon as the college degree was in my hand and well, being a CEO of a snack food company isn’t exactly my calling. So what do you say?” His ocean blues met her baby blues and in that moment, she knew she couldn’t say no.<br/>
“I’d love to join your new company, Mr. Agreste.” she smiled slightly at him. Gabriel smiled at her, “Wonderful, I’ll bring you more information later. Go back to your work now.” He dismissed her quickly. As she walked back to her desk, she gave a sigh of relief that she hadn’t lost her job.<br/>
And that's exactly what led up to the current moment. Nathalie was on her way home from work. The company’s most busy week was coming up, so the office had turned into a buzzing beehive in preparation. Gabriel had been shouting orders left and right like a bullhorn, so she was relieved to be able to go home. She was on her way into her apartment building when she bumped into someone. The other woman fell, which is when she realized she had bumped into her.<br/>
“Oh Audrey! Sorry I knocked you down.” Nathalie smiled politely as she reached a hand over to help her up. Even though Nathalie had worked with Audrey for the past few months, they had never exchanged anything past simple pleasantries. Audrey pushed it away and got herself up, “You should have been watching where you were going.” She hissed, “Whatever, I’ve been meaning to talk to you anyways.”<br/>
Nathalie gave her a confused look, “Alright, well what do you need to talk about then?” She questioned. Audrey glared at her, “You know what I’m talking about. The work thing. Agreste.” She pulled her sunglasses down to make the glare look more direct and intimidating, “You’ve got to be honest with someone about it.”<br/>
“Audrey, I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about.” Nathalie gave her yet another look of confusion, “What are you trying to conclude?”<br/>
“Why are you trying to weasel out of answering? Everyone in our company knows what you and Agreste are up to.” Audrey had a hint of jealousy in her eyes as she stared at Nathalie. Her baby blues had somehow grown darker, like the jealousy that she was emitting had poisoned her eye color into going from baby blues to navy blues. Nathalie felt slightly embarrassed by then, “Are you trying to tell me that you think I’m with Mr. Agreste?” she asked. Her face had gone from its usual pale shade to a bright red, “Oh god no! I’m his secretary!”<br/>
“What do you mean? You two have been spending an awfully large amount of time together.” Audrey stared at her like she knew the truth. Nathalie’s eyes widened in horror as she figured out what Audrey meant by then.<br/>
“You look at me.” Nathalie glared, practically burning into Audrey’s soul. She towered over her as she spoke, “I would never, ever do that. I am his secretary. Just the secretary. Nothing more, nothing less.” She growled. Audrey got nervous and backed away, “Whatever you say. I’ll be going then.” Audrey whispered. She looked super embarrassed as she walked off. Maybe Audrey had been right in a way, her feelings had changed towards her boss ever since starting the launch of their new company. Did it mean that she would ever do anything to compromise both their jobs and the new company? No. Nathalie walked into her apartment with a huge sigh of relief, knowing that the day was over.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Forever Gone</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Audrey had been born with jealousy coursing through her veins, until she met Andre. Andre had been her high school sweetheart and they had been set to marry. Had was the keyword. On the day of the wedding, Andre had been an hour late. She went to go check on him and in that moment, anger started coursing through her veins along with the jealousy that had once been there. Her fiance had another woman in his arms and on his lips. The woman turned her head, revealing herself as the famous Emilie Agreste. She was married to CEO and millionaire Gabriel Agreste. <br/>Audrey audibly gasped, “Emilie? Andre? Why?” She mumbled. Before they could answer, she started screaming, “You know what? Don’t even answer! Just get the hell out before I kick both your asses!” She growled. They ran off quickly and that’s how her once sweet romance had turned bitter. She lost everything in that moment. Her family, her housing, her everything. Her family hadn’t supported her in leaving Andre due to the fact that she had only seen them kiss. So there she was, left to fend for herself. That was until Gabriel Agreste himself offered her a job to help her get back on her feet. That was three years ago. Audrey had temporarily worked as a nanny for his young son Adrien until Adrien had been old enough to attend a preschool. Gabriel had then moved her into an office position at his company, Agreste Snackfoods. She was eternally grateful for Gabriel, despite what his now ex-wife did. <br/>But her gratefulness eventually manifested into love. Between the random hookups here and there and the looks in the office, she felt herself falling. The taste of his lips as they crashed onto hers always melted her. The smell of his cologne always sent her over the edge. She didn’t know how to explain other than that he always smelt fresh and prepared. She thought he was in love, until she saw him and Nathalie.<br/>She had seen Nathalie before. It was inevitable since they lived in the same apartment building. She hadn’t really harbored any ill feelings towards her ever, until she saw her with him. She saw the way they looked at each other and knew in her heart, they were both completely in love with each other. The way his walls broke down around her, the way he smiled at her, the way he looked at her. It was completely obvious that the one and only Gabriel Agreste had fallen in love with one Nathalie Sanceour. It didn’t help that Nathalie’s glazes at him were full of love and softness, instead of hatred. Audrey’s veins contained more jealousy than blood every time she saw them together. It didn’t matter where or when she saw them, it just turned her more and more sour each time. She was angry. Why couldn’t she be happy? Why couldn’t things go her way? Just, why? She wondered, was she just meant to be alone forever?    <br/>After her confrontation with Nathalie, she walked to her apartment and just cried. She was absolutely jealous. Where was her happy ending? Hadn’t she been good enough? She unlocked her door, entered and relocked the door. She pulled out a memory book, some wine, and a wine glass. She poured the wine inside the glass and stopped once she was satisfied with the amount. She opened up the book and immediately, she was flooded with flashbacks of Andre. Their first date, the day she met his parents, the day he met her parents, just everything came back to her. The tears started to spill as she realized this wasn’t what she wanted her life to be. She had always wanted to build a life with Andre, marry him, get a dog or a cat, or have a baby. She wanted a family with him. He was her everything and she wanted to share everything with him. And now, all that was gone.  Her happy ending? Gone. Everything was gone.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Old Memories</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Gabriel Agreste had always been alone. He had always been forgotten, unless something was needed of him. Need a loan? Go to Gabriel Agreste. Need a job? Go to Gabriel Agreste? Need a snack? Of course you’d go to Gabriel Agreste, he owned Agreste Snackfoods. He had always felt forgotten, until he met her. She was a radiant woman on the outside, but such a snake on the inside. Her beautiful smile hid her beautiful lies, her golden hair covered in secrets. He thought he knew her, until her face was plastered all over the news. Emilie Agreste caught having affair with Mayor Andre Bourgeois read the headlines. What the hell had happened? He thought his relationship with Emilie was perfect. He had married her right out of college, at twenty-two. They had had their son Adrien at twenty-three. And what a perfect little boy he was. Gabriel had absolutely adored him the moment Adrien was put in his arms. He saw Adrien as a gift from the Gods themselves. He had always promised his little boy the best of everything, including two parents who were together.<br/>That didn’t exactly last long. Adrien was two when they were caught and three when the divorce finalized. Gabriel ended up with complete custody, as Emilie and Andre had fled the country as soon as the Agreste divorce was finalized. Gabriel felt absolutely alone once again and the loneliness was sobering. He hooked up with Andre’s ex-fiance, Audrey a few times to try to fulfill that high, but it just didn’t work. He couldn’t no matter how hard he tried. No matter how many times he tasted her cherry chapstick or woke up beside her in bed, there was no chance between them. He felt he was alone in this world, left with just Adrien, until he met her. <br/>Gabriel had always played around with the idea of running some sort of fashion line or company, until he met Emilie. Even after the divorce, that idea had never completely sparked up again until he met Nathalie. He saw her for the first time and just knew that Nathalie was the one.<br/>“Ms. Sancoeur, a word.” He said, inviting himself into her office. She looked up from her desk as he closed the door. He gave her a light smirk, “I saw some of the designs you turned in. Impressive.” <br/>“Oh, thank you sir.” She smiled hesitantly and looked up at him.  He noticed a look of distress in her eyes, “Is everything alright?” He asked. She just nodded, “Yeah… kinda… Ms. Badeaux told me she thought we were sleeping together and I haven’t gotten the thought out of my mind since…” she admitted.     <br/>“Oh…” was all Gabriel could utter. This was news to him. “Audrey said that?” He mumbled.  <br/>“We have history.” he explained, “We just… did the deed a few times. She must be jealous. That woman was born with jealousy inside her bloodstream.” He joked, “Well, nonetheless, I’ll speak to her this afternoon and assure her that we are not doing any of the sort.” He assured Nathalie. Nathalie just nodded. She could play with the thought of her and Gabriel hooking up, her lips pressed against his. She bet his lips would taste like french vanilla and his cologne would somehow remind her of the ocean. She knew her tasting that french vanilla and smelling the ocean wouldn’t happen though. She watched as Gabriel walked back to his office. Gabriel had brought her such strong feelings, and it was only a matter of time before she acted on them. Her cheeks were still a rosy red from their encounter as she dared to dream about his french vanilla lips and his ocean cologne.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Desire is a Bitch</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Gabriel has a meeting with Audrey and Gabriel and Nathalie both realize what they really want.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Gabriel was well aware of how Audrey felt about him, but that doesn’t make it okay for her to corner Nathalie. He immediately called Audrey up for a meeting in his office. She was there in an instant. She came inside, professional as she usually held herself. She looked into his eyes, “Good Afternoon Mr. Agreste.” She smiled politely.<br/>	“Have a seat.” was all he said. She grew confused, but she sat down. He glared at her, “Now why would you ask Nat-Ms. Sancoeur if we were sleeping together? That’s such an outrageous claim!”<br/>	“Isn’t it obvious? You two spend way more time than you should together. You’re always having lunch, or having dinner, or spending time in your office. Not to mention the looks you give each other. Your cheeks are red and your smile looks like the sun every time you look at her. You’re both in love with one another.” Audrey concluded. Gabriel got an embarrassed look on his face and then wiped it off.<br/>	“Audrey. You know I would never risk my job like that. We have many business meetings that she needs to be present for in order to take notes. Nothing much, nothing less. And besides, I’ve been divorced for quite a bit of time. What’s so wrong with me opening myself back up into the world of dating?” He simply stated.<br/>	“B-But…” Audrey started.<br/>	“No buts. You may leave now. If I hear of this again, you’re fired.” Gabriel growled. Audrey just nodded and ran out quickly. Gabriel released a sigh he didn’t realize he was holding and continued on with his work. <br/>	By the end of the day, he had finished getting a building he could lease out while he and Nathalie built up the business itself. He grinned as he realized his dream was coming to life. He knew Audrey had once dreamt of a different life and felt as Gabriel was her only option. Between her calling off the wedding and the divorce, they’d seemed to be able to relate to each other a little too much. However, Gabriel knew in the end, she wasn’t the one. His question now was, is Nathalie the one? Audrey was right in one aspect; his respect for Nathalie had only grown since the day he met her and it wouldn’t be changing anytime soon.<br/>	As he walked home that night, he realized how much he thought of Nathalie. The blue-purple color of the sky reminded him of her hair. The color of the poster on the shop window reminded him of her eyes. Not to mention he was reminded of her when he walked by the Dupain-Cheng bakery. He knew she preferred her coffee be from their business, so he had the scent of their Cinnamon Bun coffee imprinted in his mind. He grinned  and looked inside the business. There was the family, running around, making the last orders of the day, just running around and smiling. He knew he wanted the family life. He had Adrien, but he wanted so much more than that. He wanted a wife and maybe a baby or two more. He knew in his heart that he wanted to do that with Nathalie. <br/>	His own reflection in the shop window sent him back to reality. He quickly hurried off, knowing Adrien would be excited to see him after their combined day of work and preschool.<br/>	Meanwhile, Nathalie was sitting in front of the TV, watching a rerun of The Office while eating a TV dinner. She was rewatching the part of season seven where Holly and Michael fell in love. She sighed softly. She was secretly jealous of the pair despite them not even being real. She wanted the romance they had, the moments they shared together, she wanted everything. She wanted the children, she wanted to be a stay at home mom to her children, and she just wanted someone to do it with. It was at the moment she realized, she only wanted Gabriel by her side. She realized that no offer would ever be greater than Gabriel Agreste asking for her hand in marriage.<br/>	“Oh shit… I have a crush on my boss…” Nathalie whispered.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Surprises, Surprises</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>There's something scheming from Audrey... what is it?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Nathalie was sitting at her desk, obviously distracted. Her mind was occupied with the realization of her feelings for Gabriel. She felt like they’d never work out, but she had to know. She eventually got to work, typing up some emails for him. But no matter what she tried, her mind drifted back to Gabriel. She kept trying to work until she heard her door open.<br/>“Ms.Sancoeur. . . have you received the logo designs yet?” asked a deep voice. It was clearly Gabriel. Nathalie scrolled through her emails to see if she could find it.<br/>“I only received the logo from that one artist who is obsessed with cats. . . so there should be no surprise that the logo is just a bunch of cats and a G. . .” She printed out the design for him.<br/>“Hm. . .’ He looked at it, “We could use some form of this, but the cats make it look. . . interesting.” <br/>Nathalie suddenly got an idea. She grabbed her pencil and a notepad. She wrote a G and then drew a circle around it, “We could do this. You want a simplistic line and this logo is simple, yet looks fancy. Just in a different font.” she joked.<br/>Gabriel grinned, “That’s brilliant! You’re a genius, Nathalie!” He felt like he could kiss her, but decided against it. He looked at her, “Can you email the others and tell them that we won’t need their logo design?”<br/>Nathalie nodded, “Yes. . . I assume we’ll be paying them still?”<br/>“Yes we will. . . I’ll be back here after my meeting to put the logo together.”<br/>“Yes sir.” she said as he walked out. <br/>A few moments later, she was surprised when someone else walked in; Audrey.<br/>“Ms. Sancoeur. . . I just wanted to apologize for making those assumptions about you and Mr. Agreste. That wasn’t right.” She looked at Nathalie.<br/>Nathalie was genuinely in shock, “It’s fine…” She mumbled after a bit. <br/>“Would you be up for getting some coffee together sometime?” Audrey asked.<br/>At this moment, Nathalie was sure she had died. Yesterday, she had been so cruel to her and now she’s asking her to go for coffee?   <br/>“Sure.” Nathalie smiled lightly as Audrey set up a date.<br/>Later that night, Gabriel looked at his schedule to see that Audrey had requested a coffee outing with him. He gave it a confused look, but decided to accept it anyways just to see what she wanted.</p>
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